NEW DELHI: Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday alleged a nexus between the BJP and the Congress, questioning why no "big leader" of the grand old party had been arrested in the National Herald case.
Kejriwal met AAP MLAs and councillors at the Constitution Club and referred to the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the residence of the party's Delhi unit chief, Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Recalling how the ED allegedly tried to intimidate Bharadwaj, Kejriwal said, "They told him that if he did not comply, it would not be good for him. Saurabh Bharadwaj replied fearlessly that ever since Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair were jailed, he knew his turn would also come."
Kejriwal said Bharadwaj told ED officers he was mentally prepared to spend two years in jail and was confident that senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi would eventually secure bail for him.
“He even told ED officers, ‘If you want to arrest me, take me now’,” Kejriwal claimed.
Rejecting suggestions of a political compromise, Kejriwal asserted, “Many suggest compromise, but politics does not run on compromises. Closed-door deals do not remain hidden from the public. People are not fools. Today there is widespread talk, some say Mayawati has compromised, some say Owaisi has, but most now say the Congress has compromised.”
Citing examples from Goa, Kejriwal emphasised, “People ask why the BJP has sent five of AAP’s top leaders to jail but not a single Congress leader. They shout endlessly about the National Herald case, which I read about online. As per the facts, it seems like an open-and-shut case. Yet, despite serious allegations, no one from the Gandhi family has gone to jail, while our leaders are imprisoned in completely fabricated cases.”
Pointing to earlier scandals, he added that before the 2014 general elections, the land scams in Haryana were widely discussed and Robert Vadra’s name figured prominently. “Yet nothing happened to them, while our leaders are thrown behind bars in false cases.
“In 2014, the BJP built its campaign around ‘jija ji’ (brother-in-law) and corruption, shouting about Vadra, 2G and coal scams. Yet today, all those cases have quietly been shut. The people are not fools. They can see the reality, that Congress and BJP are in a hidden alliance,” he said.
The AAP supremo declared that his party was not born to compromise for power or family. “We came into politics for the nation. For the country, we can sacrifice our lives. But for posts, party, or personal gain, we will never compromise,” he said.
Slamming the BJP-led government in Delhi, Kejriwal alleged that it had “ruined” the national capital and that people were missing the AAP government.
“People are saying that if elections were held today, AAP would win all 70 seats. While we were in power, there were no power cuts. I live in Lutyens’ Delhi, and there are at least five power cuts each day,” he said.
“There are power cuts, private schools have hiked fees, roads are broken, sewers are jammed. They are demolishing jhuggis (slums) and have made life difficult for the poor,” he charged.
Kejriwal further alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was planning to end the electricity subsidy in Delhi.
“I urge you to stay connected with the people. In the next elections, you will get a chance to govern again. Until then, be with the people in their joys and sorrows. Stand with them,” he told AAP legislators.